Identification of Common Ways for Thalassemia Awareness in Medical and Non-medical Professionals

Abstract

To identify the common ways of thalassemia awareness in medical and non-medical professions. A simple random sampling technique was used for 130 (N) participants. A designed questionnaire with multiple sections (Demographics, Awareness about Diagnosis, Management and Prevention) for the study was used. The data was analyzed for frequency in terms of percentages by using SPSS version 23. Participants that were asked about have they ever heard about thalassemia, 95% (n=123) of selected participants said yes while 5% (n=7) of selected participants said they had never heard about thalassemia before, in which non-medical employees and non-medical students were included. When those participants were asked where did they heard about thalassemia, participants that were related to medical profession either they were medical students and doctors or were from para-medical students and employees mostly heard about thalassemia from literature as thalassemia is present in their curriculum while for participants from non-medical profession either employees or students had mostly heard from Television, Friends and Social Media. When participants were asked about the kind of disease, majority 85% (n=110) knew that it is hereditary but some participants 5% (n=6) said thalassemia is caused due to dietary deficiency and 3% (n=4) said they do not have any information about its kind while remaining 2-3% of participants said that thalassemia is contagious or occurs due to an allergic reaction. The commonest information media was television, for spreading awareness regarding health related problems such as Thalassemia. Participants related to medical profession either doctors or para-medical staffs are well aware as compare to the participants from non-medical profession.